Marvel Team-Up 54?

[Logan510]

I saw in a sales thread tonight here a Marvel Team-Up 54 CGC 9.8 going for over $300...it struck me as unusual so I checked GPA and sure enough the 12 month average for the last 2 years is over $300. What I can't figure out is why? Sure, it has Byrne art and a Hulk appearance, but other than that there's nothing of note. The issue before it goes for around the same money but is significant in that's it's Byrne's first time drawing the X-Men.

 

Can someone shed any light on this? I just don't get it

[nmtg9]

I think you called it - Byrne.

 

It might not be such a big deal now but I remember it standing out back in the 80's (much like Cap #254).

 

I think today's pprices for such books simply reflect that they were hot in the past

[mysterio]

What is the census numbers on it? $300 for a Bronze 9.8 doesn't seem that out of line to me, even on an otherwise nothing common issue, if the census numbers are low. It is a widely collected title with Spidey, so demand will be a bit higher. Byrne art wouldn't hurt either.

[joe_collector]

I think you called it - Byrne.

 

Actually it's Byrne + Spider-man. He never did a significant run of ASM (imagine 70's Byrne on that mag for a year+) and this is the closest we can get.

 

I really like his MTU run, and I can remember buying it religiously as a kid and hoping that he'd never stop drawing it. Just some classic 2-parters in there, and also some tie-ins/tie-ups from series like Warlock, Ms Marvel, Captain Britain, Fantastic Four, and best of all the Iron Fist-Steel Serpent ending from his canceled mag.

 

For the first time since the series began, with Claremont and Byrne, MTU really seemed an important part of the MU and you didn't want to miss a single issue.

[VintageComics]

I agree. Terrific 70's stuff.

 

Is #53 still a "hot" book as it's Byrne's 1st work on the new X-men. I've got a few nice copies of that book.

 

 

[cheetah]

Take it from someone who collects MTU, #54 is a tough one to find in HG. Over the last couple of years, MTU has been a title with very few books submitted so there were few, if any, HG copies available of a lot of issues. But as with everything else in the BA, a lot of copies have been coming to market and the prices have crashed. #54 is one of the issues that hasn't shown up in any quantity yet.

 

One of the #54 sales was to me and I was the underbidder on the other one.

 

[Ghost Town]

Take it from someone who collects MTU, #54 is a tough one to find in HG. Over the last couple of years, MTU has been a title with very few books submitted so there were few, if any, HG copies available of a lot of issues.

Tell me about it. I've been trying to find a 9.6 MTU #30 for years. There's only one in the census so far, but since you own it, you probably know that already. 33 is really tough too. And both 9.6 copies of that book have freaky mis-cuts.

 

 

[Logan510]

I agree. Terrific 70's stuff.

 

Is #53 still a "hot" book as it's Byrne's 1st work on the new X-men. I've got a few nice copies of that book.

 

 

It goes for over $300 in 9.8, but I don't know if it's still considered a "hot" book. I think it's pretty hot, but I'm not the market.

 

I love that entire Byrne run on MTU and 54 is a fine issue, but looking at the census it doesn't appear that 54 is any more rare than the other Byrne issues ( aside from 53 ) in 9.8 I have to admit, I'm still a bit confused.

[Comicopolis]

I loved Marvel TU in the 1970's, one of my very fave books. It was difficult getting ASM in the UK as many of the issues were not shipped here so MTU was the only way of getting to see Spidey

[the blob]

I'm surprised it's that hard in 9.8. I see a fair # of copies and I'm always about to grab it thinking it's 53 and the first Byrne on X-Men. Sure, they aren't 9.8s, but that is actually a book that doesn't have the "it sat in quarter boxes for years" explanation for so few 9.8s as Byrne was pretty darn popular and such and that one was probably in the 50 cent or higher boxes.

[joe_collector]

Plus, wasn't 54 in Whitman 3-packs? I'm pretty sure I still have a sealed one around here someplace.

 

Edit: I was right:

 

[cheetah]

There are 8 9.8s in the census but I assume most of those are locked up in someone's collection because in 3.5 years of looking, I only ever saw 2 for sale. May not be rare, just under-submitted. Or maybe just dear to the hearts of the people who have one. I know I got tired of looking so when I saw one, I went after it hard. Apparently I was not the only one looking.

[cheetah]

Take it from someone who collects MTU, #54 is a tough one to find in HG. Over the last couple of years, MTU has been a title with very few books submitted so there were few, if any, HG copies available of a lot of issues.

Tell me about it. I've been trying to find a 9.6 MTU #30 for years. There's only one in the census so far, but since you own it, you probably know that already. 33 is really tough too. And both 9.6 copies of that book have freaky mis-cuts.

 

 

 

The first one is mine. I thought it had probably been yours and you got one less wonky.

 

I've decided it is one of my favorite books because when people start talking about horrid miswraps, I can bring this one out and win most of the time. You would think that the issue would be any easy presser given the amount of white on the border but I guess the red inks counteract that.

[Ghost Town]

The first one is mine. I thought it had probably been yours and you got one less wonky.

I bought the book which is now yours on eBay about 5 years ago. I had the Winnipeg copy a long time, but finally sent it to CGC last year with a big batch of pre-screens. I was very happy and a little surprised when it made the cut.

 

I don't think I've ever seen a copy of this book that wasn't mis-cut. Every copy on eBay right now is messed up, even a British copy.

 

[cheetah]

This is my copy of #30. It is also the Winnipeg copy.

 

[Ghost Town]

This is my copy of #30. It is also the Winnipeg copy.

It's hard to beat the Winnipegs on Bronze books. I took a drive to Showcase New England (with Bob Storms) when Dan got the books. Even though the collection had already been picked through, I wish I bought every bronze run that was still available. Most of the bronze Winnipegs I bought (like the MTU #33) were just $2 a book. Even back then, that was very reasonable pricing. Since then, I've spent far more on slabbing Winnipegs than I paid for the actual books.

[jools&jim]

 

Count me in as an admirer of Byrne-era MTUs. In fact, I just re-read #53 and #54 yesterday--it's a winner of a two-parter (with echoes of Crichton's Andromeda Strain), and was much more violent than I remembered from when I read it as a kid. There are also some great close-ups of the Hulk's face (which Byrne rendered with more expression and sympathy than most artists at the time), and Woodgod was just plain weird (so much so, in fact, that Bill Mantlo--apparently compelled by Shooter--took a paragraph or two on the lettercol to explain elements of the character to potentially baffled readers). Great stuff!

[joe_collector]

Take it from someone who collects MTU, #54 is a tough one to find in HG. Over the last couple of years, MTU has been a title with very few books submitted so there were few, if any, HG copies available of a lot of issues.

Tell me about it. I've been trying to find a 9.6 MTU #30 for years. There's only one in the census so far, but since you own it, you probably know that already. 33 is really tough too. And both 9.6 copies of that book have freaky mis-cuts.

 

 

 

Actually, the second one is probably one of the best-cut versions I've ever seen, as this issue/cover was offset for the entire run. That means that most of the issues are very poorly cut, and those that are miscut really bad (like the other 9.6) look like real freakshows.